A Friend, A Killer, The Killed
by Lifeless-Entity
Summary: A few years ago, Kurama disappeared after saying he was going to visit Yomi. However, he never arrived at Yomi's territory and no one has seen him since. [discontinuedin the process of being redone]
1. Prolouge

The jewelry of an Egyptian queen hung around his neck and from his ears, a gold collar latched with the ruby pendant centered on his Adam's apple. A cerise robe placed over a garnet tunic, both from a mage, matched closely to his long, wine-coloured locks. Two petite, rosy lips interrupted the near-albino skin stretched firmly over his face. All of this contrasted the semi-lidded, almond shaped, chartreuse eyes which stared dead on without hesitation. 'Who is this mystery?'

Four in the morning, grass slightly dampened from dew, I saw him. Perhaps five foot ten, hair cascading well passed his shoulders, he stood. So familiar yet I could not recognize him. My eyes, curious and confused, locked firmly as though glued to his, so listless yet still so pained. "Oi... Daijoubu ka?" No response. I wanted to get closer so I could perhaps see him better, considering the light was so scarce at four in the a.m. Though I knew he would run if I tried. Maybe he wasn't even there. 'I have to know.'

His eyes slid calmly from my gaze to my right leg, which was now bent so the attached heel was off the ground a few centimetres. As I lifted it slowly and moved it forward he still watched. 'Good,' was my initial thought for I had assumed he wouldn't run. But of course, assumptions lead you no where. The moment my foot hit ground again, he turned his back to me and strode away into darkness. While he did so I heard a music box in my head playing an eerie tune, perhaps from _Nightmare Before Christmas_.

I don't know why, but it bothered me immensely the identity of that man, for I could not keep my mind off of it for quite some time. Two weeks after that early morning, I had finally dismissed the matter as I went to an old friend's house. Apparently she was expecting me for she sat at the top of the long staircase leading up to the temple, giving me one of her lopsided smiles. I waved a hand in greeting as I reached halfway, her rising to see me better. We went into her temple and sat with warm cups of herbal tea. I blinked after taking a deep sip and stared at my cup. "Wow this is really good."

Genkai nodded. "Of course it is. It is Kurama's recipe." I nodded, realizing why she had made Kurama's tea. None of us had seen him in quite a long while, probably a few years by that point. When I went to Makai, I'd ask Yomi if he'd seen Kurama but he always said he hadn't. "Get over it. He's dead. That's the only explanation. Otherwise he would have sent word or visited. You know him. He doesn't stay away long without giving an explanation in advance or coming to visit once in a while. Shiori has even called me and asked where he was."

Shiori doesn't even know? Wow. Kurama told Shiori if he was going to go somewhere, though he didn't tell her where he was going usually. "I... Refuse to believe that he went off and got killed. He would never do that. Besides! KoEnma woulda told us!" I was furious that Genkai would even THINK that Kurama was dead. Of course we all feared it but I forced myself to think otherwise, at least semi-positive. Kurama was my friend, one of my best friends.

Soon we were joined by two more people, the twins. Hiei and Yukina sat with us, Yukina leaning on the fire demon. A few days before I saw the mysterious man he had let it slip he had a sister and Yukina figured it out from there. Since she wouldn't stop clinging to him. But I don't think he really minded. Hiei slid his arm around his sister and stroked her hair, a gentle smile playing on his lips. If only Kurama could see him now. "Oi, Detective. Any news on that man?"

"Iie. I had JUST gotten it outta my head too! Thanks a lot." I grumbled playfully. He watched me with a playful glare then he sat down, gently leading his sister down as well. Genkai poured them some tea and we all sat and talked about things that had happened in the past few years. The few... no the many years that had passed since Kurama disappeared. Okay, so maybe he was dead but I still didn't want to believe it. He was too good of a friend for me to lose. The others soon watched me and I looked down at them in confusion. When had a I stood up? "I... that man... He is a murderer. His eyes held a look of a man who has seen many die at his own hands. I am willing to bet my life that he is the one that killed Kurama."

"I thought you said Kurama was still alive, Yusuke?" Genkai watched me with her calming, wisdom filled eyes.

"There is no other explanation. He is dead. And that man killed him. That is why he came here. To see Kurama's friends suffer!" I felt a lump in my throat and tears stinging the back of my eyes. My voice was loud and deep, pain-filled. Hiei stood up and forced me against a wall.

"Snap yourself out of it detective! Kurama would have been able to kick that guy in the ass and hard. You know that. And if he were dead, then Botan or KoEnma or _someone_ from Reikai would have sent word to us! Not to mention his body. But they have sent no word! You know Kurama is alive! We all know!"


	2. The First of Many

**Hello. I will say this now, I will try to update every few days but I can't always find time to write stories. I promise that I will do my best to. And forgive me for any weird layouts of my stories. I don't know how to make it do indents for paragraphs, though I am working on that. So give me some time and it will hopefully get done. And anytime you see bold at the beginning or end of a story will be me, Lifeless-Entity talking. And trust me. This story will not focus on romance and will not be first person every chapter. Only Prologues and Epilogues will be first person if any c****hapter is. Anyway, I've rambled enough. Onto Chapter one.**

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The sun was setting over a mass of pacific water of the ocean, providing an odd color to the gentle waves that beat the shore. Two figures stood there in the dying light with their eyes all but glued to the beautiful scene before them. The taller of the two looked down at the other with gentle eyes that were close to tears. His small, deep rust eyes surveyed the girl in silence. "Yukina-chan?"

The girl looked up at him with her wine eyes. One hand reached up to grasp his comfortingly as her sea-foam hair fell slightly into her face. "Kazuma-san... it will all be okay. I promise it will be okay." She moved closer and pressed her face against his hand in an affectionate motion. Kuwabara's father had recently passed away from lung cancer and the former member of Team Urameshi had found out only a few minutes previous on the phone. Yukina was doing everything she could to comfort him.

However, the man wasn't interested in comfort. Urameshi had told him about the man he saw a while back so early in the morning. His assumption was that the man was a killer, just as Urameshi had proclaimed, but he thought that the man had also killed his father and the doctors only thought it was lung cancer. Though granted, his father had been a smoker. "I... never got to say goodbye." Yukina merely nodded, for she knew the feeling well. Her mother had committed suicide when Yukina was just a child. She had never been able to know her mother even. Especially not say goodbye.

"Kazuma-san... I am certain that no one murdered your father. The doctors did an autopsy and they said it was lung cancer. Why would they lie?" She nuzzled his arm and rested her head there in silence. Kuwabara finally nodded and then sat beside the ocean, Yukina going with him. "I love you, ... Kazuma-chan." The red head looked down at her in shock. She had only ever called him 'Kazuma-san'. A warm smile played on his face as he drew the ice maiden into his arms lovingly. They both sat there in silence, though a pleasant one, just watching the water.

After the sun had set and the sky had turned a dark blue, the couple heard a set of footsteps in the sand coming from behind them, which caused them to tense. "Oi. Baka. You and my onna-chan need to be getting back. It's dark." They relaxed and turned to look at Hiei softly. "Gomen. Did I scare the two of you?" There was a playful tone in his voice. "However, you do need to come back. It's dark and we're getting ready to eat dinner."

"You turn more and more human every time you speak, Hiei-kun." Kuwabara laughed then stood, taking Yukina's hand as the three of them walked up to the temple. Though none said a word until they had arrived into the living room of the temple, they were not untalkative. They were content with every part of their lives except the absence of their dear friend Kurama. However, the want to talk was destroyed completely when they saw the looks of everyone's faces in Genkai's temple. Horror, fear, and sorrow. Botan was there with her oar and adorned in her pink kimono of what seemed like centuries ago. Hiei stared behind her and saw that on the couch was a form beneath a white blanket. The first thought to cross his mind was 'who is missing?'. So he looked around the group and noticed the only other living member of Kurama's direct family was not there however he distinctly remembered her being the one who sent him for Kuwabara and Yukina. "Shiori-san?" He breathed.

Botan shook her head, whispering something sadly. Hiei felt anger rising in him. "Shiori-san? Where is she?" He demanded in an angry whisper but no one answered for they were too frightened to. They all knew Hiei was the last one who had seen Kurama before he left. Oh how badly the fire demon felt for yelling at him that day.

The dewy grass of the late, late evening rested softly beneath the feet of two demon friends, one short and almost no more than a blur of black while the other was tall and seemed to be a mass of red. The taller looked down at the pacing black figure softly. "Hiei-kun, what's wrong? You're pacing. It's unlike you." The fire demon merely shook his head, dismissing the matter as 'nothing' without a word. Kurama sighed deeply and looked at his little friend, emerald eyes sparkling beneath blood red locks.

Silence was resting heavily and awkwardly over them until Hiei turned sharply on his heal and looked at the taller friend. "Why the hell do you do this to yourself! Torturing yourself everyday by feeling you have caused us pain and regret more than you have caused us good? If it weren't for you we'd have lost the Dark Tournament and Sensui and Itsuki would be killing every human now and Shigure'd be the ruler of Makai along with Mukuro! If you feel you've caused so much horror then go kill yourself to repent for your sins! If you feel no one cares if you die then rid us the burden of you!" As if to assist the redhead in his decision, the short demon unsheathed his sword and placed the tip just below and out from Kurama's chin. "Be gone if you so strongly desire."

A look of utter shock and sorrow came over the former kitsune's face as he looked deep into the jasper eyes of his little ally. His mouth was dry as he thought of a response. Finally one came. "Hiei-kun... Please watch over my 'Kasaan. Let no harm come to her." His voice sounded almost pleading until Hiei nodded.

"Of... of course Kurama-kun." His arm faltered, falling to his side. What was he meaning? "Why wouldn't I? She's like my own mother... She's as close as I have to a real mother anymore..."

"Arigatou." He then turned and left, leaving the small pyro to wonder what had just happened while the clock struck midnight.

The fire demon went to the where Shiori's body lay beneath a white blanket and knelt, bowing his head. A soft tear fell down his face and turned into the black marble as it hit the couch. "Shiori-san... Kurama-kun... Gomennasai. I failed you." He placed the marble into his pocket then stood up, wiping his eyes. After a brief moment, his heal turned slowly so that he was facing the others. No words fell from his mouth as he walked back to all of them. "That's two so far. Kuwabara's father-" ( "That wasn't a murder though." Yukina interrupted.) "-and Kurama's mother. Something is going on here. Kurama has been gone for... a long time and now two people die within a month."

Yukina, being the voice of reason she is, whispered. "They were both older... It could have been natural causes." Though this was logical, the fact that Genkai was alive and in the room seemed to disprove that suggestion.

Silence engulfed them all for a few moments until Botan went to Shiori, floating on her oar, and sat there. "It's... it's time..." She soon faded to nothing though they all knew she and Shiori were flying off to the Reikai. The room was once again filled with silence and sorrow. The fire demon sat there, disbelief clear on his face. He was looking out the window, eyes wide and teary. Yusuke went and knelt beside his friend, wrapping him in his arms.

"Hiei... It's okay... There's... There's no reason... to cry..." As he spoke, the Spirit Detective was crying heavily, hiccoughing every now and again. What a hypocrite. But it didn't matter. Hiei was crying as well, black tear gems littered around them both as they sat and cried. Shiori was more to them than a friend's mother. She was _their_ mother. She'd always watch after them. She never asked questions. Yusuke had saved her and her son before he even knew them because they both seemed so genuinely good hearted.

After someone had managed to calm the pair down, they all went to sit at the kitchen table. Hiei and Yusuke sat in absolute silence as the others made light conversation, hoping to keep a happy air about them all. But it wasn't working. They all soon sat there, staring at one another. There wasn't much else to do. What if someone _was_ out to murder them?

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**Alright this concludes chapter one. Sorry it took so long. I was completely braindead on it while all my teachers at school were assigning me project after project, lab after lab, huge test after huge test. I have the final chapter written to keep me going until I get this story done, for I am known for giving up on stories. I will try to update more frequently, hopefully at least once a week if I focus my attention on A Friend, A Killer, The Killed over the weekends. Please keep reviewing so I know what you think. **


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